Mr Maheswaran
by amebrynn
Summary: The second rebellion against Homeworld, though successful, left the Crystal Gems changed in ways they never wanted. Now Steven is getting married, but there's someone he wants to be there who hasn't been seen in nine years. T for the feels, I don't want to hurt children. I am sorry.
1. Chapter 1

Steven burst through the screen door to the temple, a beaming smile on his face. Before he could say a word, Pearl had shot up from the couch and wrapped him in a surprisingly strong hug for her wiry frame.

"Steven! Oh, it's been so long!" she squawked.

The 23-year-old chuckled. "I was here last week, Pearl," he said. "Maybe you were too busy with your girlfriend to notice," he added, wiggling his eyebrows.

Pearl's peach cheeks flushed blue. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about," she insisted, as a voice from the couch called out "Yo, Stets!"

"Hey, Sheena!" Steven waved to a middle-aged woman with multiple facial piercings, shoulder-length silver hair, and laugh lines around her eyes. He tried not to let his face fall when he scanned the room to see that the other gems weren't in the living room or kitchen. "Where are they?" he asked.

"Err...well..." Pearl stalled, but Sheena didn't beat around the bush.

"Amethyst hardly ever leaves her room anymore," she said. "She's really struggling with...you know."

Steven nodded. He knew.

"But Sunny should be down at the Big Donut getting us breakfast!" Pearl said. "I haven't quite, uh, _gotten_ the concept of eating food yet, but coffee is a pleasant-tasting substance."

Sheena stood up and wrapped her arm around Pearl's thin waist. "We're making progress," she said.

A blue gemstone in the lower right arm of the star on the door in the back of the temple glowed suddenly as it split open diagonally. The temperature in the room lowered instantly by about ten degrees as Sapphire stepped out of her icy room. "Hello, Steven," she said in a dull, emotionless voice. Her sky blue hair had lost some of its volume and her royal blue gown had become a pair of trousers, ever since the last time she reformed, almost ten years ago.

"Hey, Sapphire," Steven said, trying to hide the pain he felt at seeing her alone. _It has to be much worse for her,_ he thought. "You...excited for donuts?"

"Not particularly," Sapphire answered.

Steven's face fell slightly. "Oh, well..." He wasn't sure how to continue, so he changed the subject. "I had something I wanted to tell you guys, but I want you all to be here."

"Oh!" Pearl exclaimed. "Is this about -" she began, but Sheena shushed her.

"Let Steven say it!" she said, taking both of Pearl's hands in hers Sapphire went back to the door, but instead of going back into her room as she was prone to doing often, even when Steven was there, she simply knocked once. Almost immediately, a scowling purple face poked out.

"I was _asleep_ ," Amethyst growled before catching sight of Steven. "Dude!" she yelled, and rolled across the room to knock him over, kneeling next to his huge barrel chest. "Dude, what's up?"

"I have some big news," Steven answered, "but Sunny needs to be here first."

Almost on cue, the screen door Steven came through fell off its hinges in the hands of a large reddish-orange gem who looked like she'd barely fit through the door. "Whoops," she said in a gruff voice. Her long red and gold dreadlocks were pulled into a haphazard bun, and two of her hands held boxes of donuts while the other two tried to put the screen door back on its hinges. She turned halfway, a smile brightening her three eyes and even making the two gemstones on her face glisten. "Hey, Steven, what's up?"

"Steven has something he wants to tell us," Sapphire said calmly, levitating up and then floating down to a spot on the couch next to Pearl. Amethyst perched herself on the stairs as Sunstone sat cross-legged on the floor.

"So, you all know that yesterday was the five year anniversary of when Connie and I started dating," Steven said, puffing up his chest. "Well, I took her to a nice dinner at a real swanky place in Atlantic City, and I asked her to marry me! And she said yes!"

"Oh, wow, congratulations!" Sheena exclaimed, but the gems mostly just seemed confused.

"What's that?" Sunstone asked, a blank expression on her face.

"Oh, uh," Steven said, running a hand through his thick brown curls, "you know, marriage. It's sort of a human ritual where two people promise to stay together forever."

"Like...permafusion?" Sunstone asked, and her right hands interlocked their fingers. "Like me?"

"Kind of, only you tell everybody, and there's a big ceremony and then there's a party afterwards and then...and then you stay together. Forever."

He was met with confused silence from the gems, broken by Sheena telling Pearl "It's kind of a big deal for us humans."

"Oh, well..." Pearl started awkwardly. "Congratulations! I'm looking forward to learning all about this...this 'marriage' thing. It must be a big deal to spend all of eternity with someone."

"Not really," Sapphire said suddenly. "If it's anything like permafusion, it'll be easy. It's just one day at a time."

"I know _I_ wake up every day thinking that I want to experience that day with my other half," Sunstone said. "Is it like that?"

"Kind of? I...I don't know how to explain it any better than that, I'm sorry," Steven said. "Just...I asked if Connie wants to be a part of my life for the rest of her life and she said she would, and we're gonna throw a party to celebrate that."

"I'm happy for you, Steven," Sapphire said coolly. "I'm sure Ruby would've been excited to hear it too." With that, the blue gem floated up from her spot on the couch and back into her room.

Sapphire's room had changed over the past nine years, thought it was still just as cold as it had been the last time she'd been in it alone, one of the times Garnet had split. It seemed like nothing now, but she was sure it must have been important to her and Ruby at the time. When she'd been in her room then, over thirty-five years ago, it had simply been a long, low cave with sparkling, icy stalactites frozen from the ceiling. Lining the walls had been shelves filled with gifts Ruby had given her over the thousands of years they'd been together: a snowball Ruby had thrown at her, a small daisy now covered with tiny icicles, the baseball from the time all the other Rubies came to Earth.

Sapphire wiped a tear from her eye and took in the sight of the new room, the way it had transformed over the past nine years. Now it appeared as the Keystone Motel room where she and Ruby had last fought with each other. The walls glistened with ice and any horizontal surface had icicles hanging from it, but overall it was the same exact room.

Other than a small bubble containing a key floating just above the bedside table, which went to the bathroom door. The bathroom was less of a bathroom in this existence than a storage closet filled with little knickknacks in bubbles; the snowball, the daisy, the baseball.

Sapphire never opened the bathroom. Those things all reminded her of Ruby too much.

Ruby. The brave crystal gem soldier with a moral compass too strong for her own good. Sapphire's best friend and partner for over millenia. Sapphire would give anything to be able to leave this room and enter Garnet's. But Garnet hadn't existed for nine long years.

Sapphire let a sob wrack her body, and she crawled into one of the motel beds, trying to get comfort from the warmth of the blankets.

They were frozen.


	2. Chapter 2

_Garnet stood looking in the mirror, her usually blank expression gone. Tears were streaming down her face from all three eyes, and she was muttering to herself, looking in the mirror in the bathroom, clutching the sink so hard there were thin threads cracking it._

 _"Garnet?"_

 _She whirled around, eyes wide with sorrow and surprise. "Stevonnie," she said, her normally still voice shaking. "How...how are you?"_

 _"Garnet..." Stevonnie said, standing in the doorway, their hair losing much of its volume. "Garnet, what's going on? Amethyst and Pearl are being really secretive and now you're..." Tears started forming in Stevonnie's eyes. "Garnet, what's happening?"_

 _Garnet didn't answer; she stepped away from the sink and walked, zombie-like, to Stevonnie and wrapped them in a tight hug. "We are an experience," she whispered, "but sometimes we have to set that aside." She pulled away, holding Stevonnie at arm's length. "Ruby and Sapphire are stronger apart. We need the numbers, Homeworld is too strong."_

 _"But -" Stevonnie began, but a golden glow filled the room, and they had to turn their face away. When they looked back, garnet had been replaced with two much smaller gems, Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby immediately put a hand to her forehead._

 _"I'm never going to get over losing future vision," she grumbled, tears in her eyes. "I'm gonna miss being Garnet."_

 _Sapphire didn't say a word. She simply floated out of the bathroom with a small sniffle._

 _"What were you doing in here?" Stevonnie asked._

 _Ruby bit her lip, looking after Sapphire. "Memorizing our face."_


	3. Chapter 3

"My parents were really surprised that I said yes," Connie was telling Steven as he drove their truck to the barn, Carnelian hunched in the bed. "I don't think they expected me to settle down right out of college."

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Steven replied, a tendril of curly hair coming loose from his ponytail as he parked along the bumpy dirt road leading up to the barn. "Though that may have just been nerves," he added, blushing a little. He turned off the ignition, and the truck shook as Carnelian climbed out.

"Of course I'd say yes," Connie said, leaning over to give Steven a short kiss. "You're my best friend. Always have been." They were startled by a loud pounding on the driver's side door.

"The big orange one said you had information for us," said a short, squat red gem. She'd reformed last with a floaty red blouse cut above her gemstone, in the center of her tummy, and a pair of red trousers. Her skin was much darker than most of the other red gems bustling around the barn, implying that she'd been one of the last of them to emerge from the ground.

"Can you gather everyone up, Navy?" Steven asked, getting out with Connie.

Navy answered with a salute, before turning around and yelling, "HEY, GUYS, STEVEN WANTS TO TELL US SOMETHING!" Three red gems bustled over from making some sort of tall sculpture, one an even darker shade of red than Navy casually doing a handspring off the top, landing on the ground about ten feet below her with perfect form. The gem on her leg flashed in the sun. The four Rubies gathered around Carnelian and looked her up and down.

"Looking good," said one with a gem on her chest, between a pair of suspenders. "Do you mind? I haven't seen my sister in a long time."

Carnelian smiled and became enveloped in a golden glow. Connie squeezed Steven's hand; she knew how panicked he'd been when Garnet had unfused for the last time. When the glow subsided, Carnelian wasn't there anymore. She'd turned into a huge orange gem with flowing tan hair and gem in the middle of her face, like a nose, holding a much, much smaller Ruby with her gem in the place of her eye. The Ruby, known as Eyeball, sat up in Jasper's arms and kissed her gem before hopping down to the ground to hug all her sisters at once. Jasper leaned back against the truck, watching Eyeball bounce around and talk frantically with all the other Rubies.

"Hey," said a crisp voice behind them. Steven turned to see Lapis Lazuli standing there in a green and blue flannel, along with her usual cropped tank top and full skirt. "What's up?"

"Lapis!" Steven said, and hugged her tightly. Her stick-thin body was dwarfed by his. "How have you been?" He was answered with a shrug.

"Hi, Connie," she said, her head peeking over Steven's shoulder. "Jas."

"Laz - Lapis," Jasper said, correcting herself halfway through the name. "Nice shirt."

"Thanks," Lapis replied. "Peridot got it for me."

Jasper seemed taken aback by confusion. "What? Why?" Lapis laughed until she snorted.

"I have no idea."

"STETS!" came a nasal cry from behind the barn. A tiny triangular gem came sprinting out from behind the barn, carrying a small grey bundle in her arms. She tripped rather dramatically, and the grey bundle in her arms went flying, stretching its legs and preparing to land on its feet.

 _"Nooooooo!"_ Lapis cried, rushing forward to catch it. It landed in her arms with a slightly offended _"Mrrp"_ at being thrown. The Rubies burst into applause at the spectacular catch.

"And who's this?" Connie asked, petting the fuzzy little gray kitten.

"Dat Boi," Lapis said, deadpan.

"Dat -"

"It's a meme." Peridot trotted up and jumped up into the back of the truck, leaning out with her elbows resting on the edge. "Lapis is obsessed with memes." The kitten purred as Lapis started to stroke it.

"Wanna pet her, Jas?" Lapis lifted the kitten towards Jasper, who cupped a giant hand on top of her head and gasped.

"She's so soft," she murmured in a gravelly voice. Dat Boi purred louder.

"She likes you," Lapis said.

"So," Peridot said, "what is it you have to tell us?" The Rubies broke up their conversation and circled around Steven and Connie, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"We're getting married," Connie said excitedly, taking Steven's hand. Two of the Rubies, Leggy and Navy squealed, and Peridot's jaw dropped. Army and Doc seemed confused, but Leggy and Navy were already excitedly explaining to them what "married" meant, and Lapis always smiled like she didn't care.

"I didn't...I didn't understand it either," Jasper whispered to Lapis, but she held up her hand.

"No, I know," she said simply, before turning to Steven and Connie. "Nice."

"Will we be invited?" Leggy asked, blushing an even deeper shade of red. "And can Navy and I help you pick out a dress?"

"Absolutely!" Steven said, beaming. "Of course you'll all be invited! You're all my family!" Peridot beamed, the Rubies blushed in varying shades of red, Jasper looked surprised, and even Lapis's smile widened a little. Steven and Connie started up a conversation with Peridot and Lapis, catching up on what was new around the barn, which included a viewing of some new meepmorps.

Jasper held a thumbs up to Eyeball before leaving to tour the barn. Eyeball's smile lifted a little on one side, becoming a smirk. She turned to the Rubies and pulled them in close. "Okay, before we left, Sapphire told us she had an idea…"

* * *

 **A/N: Yo. This is a multichapter fic for a reason. I'm used to writing stuff with well-thought out plot. If you don't get it, be patient. You will eventually. _In a later chapter._**


	4. Chapter 4

_"Listen, Pearl, I don't like this idea any more than you do -" Peridot was trying to explain, but Pearl interrupted, her voice brought up to a screech by nerves._

 _"Then why did you bring it up?" Pearl demanded, making Lapis yelp and spill the armful of swords she was carrying out of Pearl's room. Amethyst hurried over and set a large purple hand on her arm. "Peridot?" Pearl asked._

 _"Because we have no other choice!" she answered, not even trying to keep her emotions under control. "You think we really have any tiny chance against homeworld with these - these - these toothpicks?!"_

 _Pearl's jaw dropped and she stuttered for a moment before letting out a sound of anger. "Toothpicks?" she settled on. "These are what won us the first war!"_

 _Peridot scoffed. "You can't be serious," she said, and the whole room paused to listen to her nasal voice fill the space. "You only survived the gem war because of Rose's shield! We only left because Earth wasn't worth the trouble! We'd used up nearly all the resources we could, and it was littered with corrupted gems. We can't win, unless we use the -"_

 _"No, Peridot, and that's final." Pearl stalked off angrily._

 _Peridot growled and kicked a pile of spears in the corner._


End file.
